Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide

   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #1  

hawk10

Member
Joined
May 28, 2019
Messages
36
Location
Hixson, TN
Tractor
John Deere 3033R, Dresser TD7E
Hello Everyone,

I apologize if this question has been asked here before but I was unable to find it in a search so I am going to ask anyway.

I have some very steep hills on my property, 30-35 degrees that I have been weedeeting up until recently. I just ponied up and got this unit a few days ago:

Ventrac.jpg


This thing is alot different from any other tractor or mower that I have been on and I am having trouble getting a feel for the limits of the machine. My question to this community is, in your experience do these mowers typically try to tip or slide first on a steep side slope?
 
   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #2  
I don't have experience with the dually Ventrac, but they were the machine I determined to be best suited for incline mowing (not counting the $50k + hydraulic leveling, or remote controlled machines). Based on specs, reviews, recommendations, etc...

There are too many variables to provide a black or white answer to sliding vs. rolling. My modified ZD326 generally begins to slide approaching 30 degrees. I have never had the uphill wheel come off the ground, but I know it would if I were to slide sideways and catch the downhill wheel in a rut or something. That did happen on my bank with a walk behind mower.

I swapped the turf tires for a chevron type aggressive tread, filled the tires, and added 2" wheel spacers. It's a good bank machine, but doesn't compare to your Ventrac. Enjoy, and be safe!
 
   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #3  
I own a 4520z…for about 4 months now. Fantastic machine! I bought it primarily for slope mowing and it’s performed great. My steepest slope to date, according to my gauge is about 30 degrees. I always run the dual wheels and at extreme slopes I find they start to lose traction when side hill mowing and you end up crab walking across the hill. When mowing really steep slopes, I try to mow up and down the slopes.

My dealer told me there are no documented cases of a Ventrac flipping over. Not sure if that’s true or not, but I’ve not heard or seen evidence of any myself. I’ve been told with the dual wheel setup they lose traction and slide way before they flip and in my limited experience I’d say thats probably true.

Wear your seatbelt when working on slopes and proceed with confidence.
 
   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #4  
Mine is a "Z" and I have my tires loaded and the mid weight kit. BUt even before adding the extra weight, 30 or 35 slope was a cake walk. I mow slopes steeper than that routinely, but I am not saying such is "safe", it is NOT safe. Mine does slide sideways at times and the outer front ATV type tires do plow the turf when that happens. To avoid that, I attack the steepest slopes vertically or at least on the diagonal. I think I could roll it if I tried really hard to do so... but I think better to not try that hard.

prs
 
   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #5  
I'm far from the most experienced user here but I've been running a 4500Z with duals on steep slopes here in Idaho for a couple years. I'm working in the woods with burrows, stumps, and uneven ground to contend with - not on anything resembling turf or pasture.

I haven't seen any tendency to tip though I'm constantly on guard for a small stump or hole that could change the effective slope quickly should I run across it. Tall grass, especially when dried out, and deep layers of needles are quite slick and the machine will slide some and as Otgaugres has pointed out, you end up doing a crab move to try to stay on the hill. Travelling up and down the slope is a lot more comfortable, both physically and mentally.

The weight transfer system on the 4500Z (not sure if 4520 has it) does make a difference. It almost goes without saying but you want to make sure you're in "float" or even minor down-pressure on the mower deck will let the caster wheels pick up some of the load and you go sideways pretty quickly. I only mention this because it's happened to me in the course of lifting the deck to avoid stumps or other obstacles and then not moving the SDLA sharply enough to lock into the "float" detent.

My biggest risk in sliding is having the machine move downhill and getting a tree between the front and rear wheels. Mowing near a fence that mostly ran up/down the hill the other day I hit a little depression that caused a slide of a couple inches but just enough to put a steel fence post between the mower (a big 'ol heavy Steiner RC466 rough cut) and the front tires. I could not get out of that spot no matter what I tried and ended up having to detach the mower, lift it up with my log skidding attachment on the 3 point hitch and drag it down off the hill to a spot where I could re-attach. When working on a sidehill I usually give myself a lot of room between the machine and trees as I pass them or only pass the mower and not the front tires by the tree and then back up to avoid this sort of jangle.
 
   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #6  
With duals, I don’t see how you could tip it.
Mine slides way before it would feel tipsy.

We have several videos on some aggressive slopes. Some up to or slightly over 40 degrees.

The Ventrac usually starts sliding if running sideways at 36-38 degrees.

Tim
 
   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #7  
I agree with the general idea what has been said.

After you give it a try, you may want to consider upgrading the seat with arm rests. I find it challenging to sit comfortably on the slopes and I do have the arm rests.

There is a post or two on here about 3rd party seating that is available too.

It seems obvious, but I had to learn to watch the tires to see if they are picking up any dew. Any indications of dew will make my tractor slide easier.
 
   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #8  
You guys talk about the steep of slopes you go on, better take a look at how steep the engine is rated for...... So either your not as steep as you think or your slope gage is wrong or you will starve your engine for oil. When you have to sit on the arm rest, it's steep..... I did roll one on it side, so they can put that in the books...... Jim
 
   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #9  
I think those machines self level for that exact reason.
 
   / Ventrac 4500Y w/ MS720 Mower Deck Roll or Slide #10  
You guys talk about the steep of slopes you go on, better take a look at how steep the engine is rated for...... So either your not as steep as you think or your slope gage is wrong or you will starve your engine for oil. When you have to sit on the arm rest, it's steep..... I did roll one on it side, so they can put that in the books...... Jim
You rolled a Ventrac within the units slope rating? I find that hard to believe. How did that happen?
 
 
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